Rosa Rubicundior, Lilio Candidior
by Lieutenant Shroom
Summary: When Edd buys a book for Ed, Eddy accidentally sets his fate as the Hero of Ivalice. When the town of Saint Ivalice is changed into the jungles of Lustria, Eddy must save the jungle from a hideous evil, find his friends, and return home alive.


A/N- I don't own Final Fantasy or Ed, Edd n Eddy.

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CHAPTER ONE- Snow Over Saint Ivalice

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Edd never could really forget the winters in Saint Ivalice. Maybe it was the snow constantly drifting down three out of four seasons, barring the summer where it became really hot. The stream that they had named their estate after, Peach Creek, was frosted over, and many of the young children just having being dismissed from the schools were laughing and playing on the rim, impromptu ice skates slipping and sliding. Sant'Ivalise was the old name of the place, which had a longstanding reputation for being a landlocked centre of commerce, despite the fact it was freezing most of the year. Ivalice was a beautiful city, having a large lake in the middle, which was currently officially unnamed, further adding to the city's curiosity, and many feats of architecture that spanned the whole area, some stretching back to Roman times. Thus, on a windy Friday evening in the middle of December, Eddward MacIntosh did walk along the bridge spanning the river of the town, looking for a place to spend his allowance. Cars sped by on the icy road, their headlights giving a bustling character to the darkening sky, even though it was only three o'clock. Many people were on the streets- be it children pelting each other with snowballs or businessmen celebrating a period of rest. Eddward made his way past several students from his school as he passed in front of a realtor's building, waving nonchalantly at them. The warm interiors of several shops opened their doors to him, snowdrifts piling against the panes and shopkeepers pulling on sweaters, but they did not hold what Eddward was looking for, and so he left their welcome untaken.

He walked past a traffic light switching from green to red and avoided a yapping dog that attempted to lick his feet when he came to be in front of a small shop crammed into a corner. Deciding to humour the small shop, he walked in, keeping the doors open so as to let out the sweltering heat inside the shop. Eddward marvelled at the interior- it was evidently an antique bookshop, one that he had not bothered to visit before, and so was completely new to him. Many a volume of tattered tomes stood on every possible surface, each one clamouring for the forty dollars burning a hole in his pocket. Picking up a bundle of tomes, he leafed through them, amazed at what he found there. This was an amazing store! The book he was holding looked to be at least sixteenth century, and was bound in bright red, albeit fading, leather. Opening the yellowing pages, he was amazed to see he had picked up a biology textbook from five hundred years ago, with diagrams of organs, dissected animals and theses written in fading script. Setting it down, he leafed through his money, wondering how much the tome would set him back. Thinking the price tag to be in the hundreds, he sadly set it down and made to leave the shop.

"Twenty dollars for that one. An extra discount on the one next to it if you buy."

Eddward yelped and turned around. There, sitting in a large stool behind the ancient counter, was a very old man. He was wizened as an apple from three years before, and a similar size at that- he only came up to Eddward's shoulder, and he was not a tall kid. The man had several liver spots marring his crinkled forehead, and he had a beard that trailed over the counter now that he was at its height- a mix between fantasy dwarf and actual dwarf. He stared, dumbfounded at the price tag and the sudden appearance of the old man as he indicated the faded book lying on its side next to it. He picked them up and placed them on the table, bringing out his cash. "How much?"

The old man laughed, his eyes sparkling. "What are you doing, offering me that kind of cash? We get customers here very rarely. Thankfully, I'm not exactly a big eater. I can survive on a few beans a day! That will be twenty-five of your American dollars, my friend!"

Staggered by the old man's generosity, he forked over exact change. Thinking of the fifteen he had left, he thought of getting a present for the other Eds- now that Ed could read, he had become a kind of reading aficionado. He got through many a book a day, and loved to read fantasy novels, and he had a strange hankering for manga. None of that would be found here, though. Looking through the tiny room, he came across a book with a strange rune-like ring of glowing blue characters on the front, with a title in embossed print. Picking the black volume up, careful not to damage the ring on the cover, he picked up the light on the golden print and read the age-old title. The embossed font glowed and spelt out a title in sparkling letters-

_**Ivalice- The Land of Magick and Myth**_

_**Penned by- Seele of the Nu Mou**_

_**Previous Owners- Marche Radiuju**_

Ed would love this! Quickly placing it on the counter, he hoped that he had enough to take it.

"All seems in order. That will be the rest of your money, then."

Fifteen dollars for this archaic book! It was amazing! Quickly handing it over to the shopkeeper, he took the old book and pressed it into his coat, taking care not to damage it. He quickly thanked the man and hurriedly left the shop, running out into the snow-covered street and by the cars, hoping to get home before the sun went completely down. The kids were still skating in the snow, but even that did not register to Eddward- home was where the heart was, after all.

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"I beat you again, Eddy!"

The sounds of traditional video game violence echoes around the small room as the two boys played some form of futuristic shooting game on a sleek black console. A movie announcer-like voice blared out from the massive speakers in front of the HD TV, announcing Ed's "quadruple kill". Eddy's character respawned holding a futuristic-looking black metal carbine, which issued enough bursts of plasma to melt Ed's character down to a puddle of goo on the floor, broken armour flying everywhere. Eddy celebrated momentarily by teabagging Ed's lifeless corpse before moving swiftly forward to avoid another player's burst of liquid nitrogen. The boys continued in this vein for some time, before a knock was heard from the door and a lithe, thin body swept through. The great old book Double D had bought for Ed was in the lump's hands before the boy lifted it. Gasping in delight, Ed hugged the other boy in such a vicelike grip Edd was sure he'd need surgery. The video game violence dimmed as the game ended, and Edd opened his mouth, preparing to speak.

"What you got there, sockhead?"

… If Eddy didn't jump down his throat first.

"If it's of any real use or interest to you, Eddy, I bought a book for Ed from the antique store in town. As you can see, he's avidly reading it now…"

Ed was reading his collateral pants off, his eyes skimming through the text faster than a speedboat through still water. The kid was obviously amazed by what he read, and so he raised his voice as he began to read the intrepid adventure to his friends. Apparently, some kid called Marche had just been attacking this red pixie thing, and Edd could tell from the story's typing of foes (basically, he had read a lot of fantasy novels himself) and knew the hero was fighting a low-powered enemy. Ed obviously thought this was real, as he acted out the battle between this Marche and a kind of plant called an "exodus fruit".

"…and then, with a swing of his mighty Buster Sword, the beast was felled! The great plant fell onto the ground, soaked in its own, bright blue moisture, as its younger fellows' attacks wavered! With a chop to the neck down came another! Many blue heads were lying on the ground as Marche and his fellows left the area. And that is how they beat the quest!"

The fantasy-driven kid was trembling in excitement as he finally put the book down. Eddy, in turn, picked it up, and flicked to the end. "What the… the pages from that point onwards are blank!"

Edd was piqued by this discovery, and so sidled next to Eddy, focusing on the yellowing parchment as he read the "end" of the book.

"…and so the great hero left the land for the last time. Many a song was penned about him, from his slaying of the Klesta to the quashing of the Neukhia. And, though the evils did strike again, the hero's deeds had done well, and so the populace were ready. The Mist in the Aldanna range settled and the land was peaceful. Just like Southern Ivalice and Northern Ivalice before it, Eastern Ivalice was cleansed of all evil…

…but the same could not be said of West Ivalice.

The jungles of Lustrian country steamed with evil, their swamps bubbling with horrors untold. The keys to the dimension were taken and sealed away for none to find. Evil had not been completely quashed from Ivalice, and so there was one final challenge that one brave soul would take.

This warrior would have the power to destroy the darkness for good, and send it back to the Sealed Necropolis in Central Ivalice. He would face many challenges, and meet burdens unimaginable. This last hero would be remembered above all others. This would be the Final Champion of Ivalice. Now, I ask you to show him the path… speak his name! The Final Champion of All Ivalice would be…"

Edd was gobsmacked. How could a book know such thing would happen? He knew a "Marche Radiuju" had owned the book, but the whole thing had been written in the same hand! But before Edd could ask any questions, Eddy said the fateful words that would begin their epic Edventure.

"The Final Champion of All Ivalice is Eddy Skipper McGee!"

Now that was insane.

"Eddy, why did you just talk to a book?" Ed inquired the small boy confusedly.

"Hey, it's mumbo-jumbo! Doesn't really matter if it works or not! I got a high, at least…"

In the video gaming session that followed until the dead of night, not even Ed, who was enjoying reading it, looked at the book at all. It was a shame, as three-player shooting games were obviously more important than magick books. If one of them had even remotely looked away from the screen, they would have seen the burning gold letters that had penned themselves in the same, spidery hand as all the rest of the book. If they had seen what it sent out, as a warning to an oncoming event, they would have quickly prepared. Though they did not know it, the very air around themselves was changing as their world was warped. If only they had seen the final sentence in the book at the moment…

"The Final Champion of All Ivalice is Eddy Skipper McGee."

--

Though all of the civilians did not feel the world warping, an old man in a lavish, old-fashioned room certainly did. He felt the signs of aging disappear as he began to grow slightly taller. Pushing open the door to the room on the other side of the corridor, he entered inwards into the presence of three beings. One was a woman clad in full-body armour and a large sword, with ice-blue hair and a soft expression. The second was a large man, built like an ox and with the horns to prove it. The final one was a very large bird, who looked to be glowing in red flame.

"Ramuh, don't you feel it? We're returning to Ivalice!"

The small man on the floor began to grow taller as his beard became more pronounced. He grabbed a large, stick from the side as the small robe-like clothes he wore exploded out in a great cloak, in a bright yellow colour winding up the sides of a white robe. Lightning flared out from the end of the great staff he held as he once again grew in height. The armoured woman began to grow cold, and her blade glowed blue as ice crystals formed around the sword's blade. The beast-man was no longer a man- he was a demonic creature, cloaked in a brown robe with fire wheeling around his feet, hands and horns. The bird was now so big it barely fit into the room. The old man, Ramuh, spoke to the other three beings as reality began to warp around them.

"The time has come. Shiva, Ifrit, Phoenix, wait for them in your temples. I shall return to the Sealed Necropolis. Let the evil be purged from Ivalice!"

"Yes, captain Ramuh!"

"Yes, Gigas Commander!"

The bird didn't speak, but rather flew off into warping night sky. Snow stopped falling and was replaced with pouring rain. Ramuh looked out into the dark sky as the planet completely warped out of control, fluxing in and out of existence.

"Good luck… Ivalician Warriors!"

--

Eddy's eyelids trembled as sunlight poured onto them, and he stirred in his sleep, rolling around to avoid regaining consciousness. How long had they played last night? He felt the ground- thatched and wooden, like it should be- and settled back onto his feather pillow.

Wait a minute. Ed's floor wasn't thatched…

Eddy jerked awake, screamed, and nearly killed himself in one breath as he saw where he was. He wasn't in Kansas anymore…

Jungle trees stretched out as far as the eye could see, and the smell of dew in the morning wafted across the great forest. Eddy swayed in his high position, in some sort of nest high in a tree, and looked at himself, hoping to see his classic style clothes. He wasn't exactly surprised, but his new clothes were certainly rather shocking.

On his hands and lower arms, he sported a pair of grey armbands cloaking his vulnerable body whilst giving him movement as they ended without fingers. A dark blue short-sleeved cuirass enveloped his upper body, made of padded blue cloth that served as armour, with three black straps encompassing the waist as it ended before his pants. They were made of brown, padded leather, ending halfway down his thigh and were plated with a kind of green, lustrous metal on the knees, which also covered his shoulders as the rest of the flesh was exposed. Moving his hand onto his head, Eddy found himself holding a cotton hat, thick and powerfully padded for extra protection. What attracted his attention most, however, was the blade strapped to his side.

Drawing the handle, he marvelled as he found himself holding a masterfully forged shortsword, its handle carved in a runic pattern and the blade thin, sharp and keen. Swinging it through the air, he marvelled at how easy it was to handle, being both light and sturdy. Rooting through his pockets, he found himself holding a white box with a red label and several lines of text- according to the legend, it was a First Aid, made for "soldiers, who need an extra rejuvenation in the heat of battle". He grabbed a branch of the tree and began to climb his way down, sheathing the blade and stuffing the first aid back into his pocket. He firmly pushed all thoughts of where he was in relation to anything out of his mind for the moment to replace it with adrenal functions. Landing on the ground, he took a look around his surroundings and gasped.

The jungle below looked nothing like the jungle above- the undergrowth was thick and large, coming up to Eddy's chest. Great trees stood above him as he saw the creatures of the jungle go about their own business. He drew his blade and hacked through a large, green weed, with tentacles that resembled a water-lily, and pressed on into the forest. The ground was soggy underfoot, and great beasts shook the earth nearby as Eddy luckily avoided them. His hand was permanently on his sword's handle and he would not hesitate to draw it if the moment came. As he passed into a clearing, he sat down on the ground under a tree, sighing in fatigue. He grabbed the First Aid from his pocket and opened it, drinking the electric blue liquid inside without a second thought. Instantly, he was rejuvenated and got back up, failing to notice the package fading into tiny particles that returned to him. Hacking through a blade of hyper-growing grass, he heard the flapping of wings and a guttural roar. With one quick movement, Eddy drew his blade and faced his attacker.

--

"So all we have to do is kill the monster attacking the crops around here?"

"That seems head to tail of it, aye!"

Four beings walked through the jungle path, all of them with their weapons drawn. The first was a human, wearing bronze plate armour and carrying a large blade with both his hands. The second was some kind of lizard, clad in rusty silver armour with a tarnished helmet and carrying a large spear in his right hand. The third was a dog-like being, with a hunched back and drooping ears. He was wearing a long black cloak that brushed the floor, and carrying a brown book in his hands. Half-moon spectacles drooped off the bridge of his nose. The last being was a lot shorter than the others- it was a small, furry being, with white fur and small bat-like wings on his back. He was wearing a green thief's suit, with a green bandanna that let an antenna with a red pompom sticking through it out.

The dog-like being suddenly paused, placed his hand to the ground, drew a knife from the middle of his book and carved an intricate rune on the ground. Kneeling on the ground, he placed his hand on the shallow cuts in the mud and watched as they were filled with energy. The rune faded inwards, and exploded outwards in a burst of light, with blue sparks flittering through the air around him. The dog-man looked at his allies and spoke gravely.

"The target is already in combat. Gren, check the compass. He's northeast eighty-seven degrees."

The lizard-man, who was apparently called Gren, nodded and checked the compass on his weapon. Turning a bit to his right, he charged forward, cutting down much vegetation as they closed in on the combat zone.

--

Eddy gasped as once again the wind was knocked out of him by this insane beast, blood oozing from a deep gash in his stomach. This monster was so powerful he had no hope of killing it alone- his blood fell in crimson showers from a large scratch over his eye, and he was having trouble seeing. The creature attacking him fell back on its haunches as it roared in pride of its defeat of the boy. The monster was mostly neck, with spiny carapace-like armour stretching all the way along its back and tapering to a long, thin blade on the end of its tail. Its feet were cloven and hoofed, with hunched legs in a crouching position to take the stress of its body. Its arms ended in three thin fingers with barbed blades at the end of them, and the creature's head was situated about a metre along its neck. The head was angular and sharp, with an underdeveloped carapace plate with three yellow eyes and an array of tentacles, each one coloured like pallid flesh, forming its mouth parts. As it moved in to kill the boy, the four warriors burst into the clearing, shouting at the creature and brandishing weapons. The small furry one reacted first, brandishing a wickedly sharp knife and running towards the monster. Once there, he evaded the beast's strikes and sunk his blade into the creature's knee, with a satisfying "schwing". As the small creature ran back, the doglike creature beckoned to Eddy. The boy reluctantly got up and limped over, taking the creature's pain as an opportunity to sneak by. Once he was there, and Eddy got a good look at him, he yelped and fell down, wincing as his stomach cut was stretched.

"You're a… a dog! What the heck is this place?"

The doglike being, though rather bemused by his statement, gave him the benefit of the doubt anyway. "I am Schneider of the Nu Mou tribe, one of the great races of Ivalice. My friends are Gren, the lizard-like one with the spear- just don't call him a lizard- who belongs to the Bangaa tribe, my furry little friend Tomas, the moogle with a red pompom and white fur, and Dros, the hume in bronze armour carrying the sword."

Eddy took a moment to take all this information in, then nodded, swallowed nervously and asked what the beast was. Schneider laughed and produced a very big book printed like an old-fashioned tome. Eddy at first turned his brain off, but seeing the illustrations inside made him think again.

"This is a Juvenile Jabberwock, soldier. Be thankful not only that we are here to kill it for you, but also that it isn't an adult." Eddy was stunned by the size of the adult in comparison with the juvenile on the next page. The nu mou closed the book, concentrated on it, and suddenly Eddy was glowing with blue light. The wounds he head were healed somewhat, and he felt ready to fight. Schneider hurried off to join his friends in the thick of battle, leaving a flustered Eddy behind. The nu mou held the book above his head, glowed with red energy, and incanted a spell.

"Fira!"

Bright red flames burst into existence below the Jabberwock, exploding upwards and shedding some of the creature's blood. The monster roared in pain, trying to douse the magickal fire with its tail, easily putting out the flames. Gren took the beast's distraction to jump high into the air, higher than would have been thought possible by lesser beings, and position himself in the air so his massive spear was angled down. If the Jabberwock had not seen it, the beast's days would have been ended there. By sheer quick thinking, the beast flung its body backwards, making the spear only nick its side. Roaring in anger, the beast's bladed tail swung around, slashing Gren's chest right through his armour. He fell onto the ground, kneeling in pain. Tomas leapt forward, running rings around the beast's legs in an attempt to confuse it. As it sun around, in obvious confusion, he grabbed a dagger from within his cloak and threw it into the creature's stomach, where it sunk in a few inches, bright blue blood leaking out. Tomas was not able to avoid the coming blow, however, as he was kicked in the face by a large red hoof. He spun on the ground near the edge of the clearing, moaning in pain as he too fell down, unable to fight any more. Schneider began to glow with yellow light, incanting a Thundara, but, as the lightning bolt came leaping down, the beast's tail absorbed the thunderbolt in its entire might, and issued it at Schneider, knocking the doglike being to the ground, defeated by his own spell. The only one left was Dros, who ran towards Eddy, fending off a tail strike with a greatsword.

"Can you fight?" Eddy nodded in the affirmative. "Good. Now, I can see you're a new soldier, and so you only have one skill- to make first Aids. Fight the monster any way you can. If you're in desperate danger, use a First Aid- it will automatically refill in a minute or so. Good luck! And avoid the tail, aim for the head!"

Eddy, taking this advice to heart, drew his blade and ran towards the monster's head. The beast whipped its tail at him, but he avoided the attack instantly, knowing that Dros was risking his life for him. The blade he had in his hands slicked through three mouth tentacles as they were severed from the monster's head, with bright blue liquid trickling down its face. The creature roared in pain as he saw Dros deliver a solid stomach slice, and Eddy took the opportunity to attack the place where the neck ended and head begun. Swinging with all his strength, he made a good nick in the tough flesh, avoiding the creature's thrashing attacks as with Dros. The beast wasn't done yet, though. Roaring in anguish, the beast exuded bright green light particles, and looked at Dros and Eddy with all three eyes. At once, several vines shot up from the ground, entangling around Eddy and Dros as they flayed their life away. Eddy gasped in pain as the already moist ground became a little moister, and he felt as if half his life had been wicked away. The beast whipped a claw at Eddy's knee, grunting in pain, and it was all he could do to avoid it. Several more strikes issued from the beast as Eddy rolled from side to side, his cuirass not much help in this situation. The beast saw Eddy lose his breath, and, as the warrior was down, aimed a strike at the lustrous metal plating on his knee. Eddy had forgotten about the green plating on his elbows and knees, and he hoped that they had some skill to save him. The blade dropped…

… and impacted with a clank on the green metal plates, doing absolutely no damage. The beast roared in both surprise and pain as Dros hit it on the stomach again.

"Now's your chance! Take it down!"

Drawing his blade, Eddy stared defiantly at the beast, which looked shocked and moved its head out of the way. Eddy stared the creature in all three of its eyes, defiantly outstripping the juvenile Jabberwock. Eddy moved his blade and pointed it in the crux of the beast's neck.

"Sayonara, evil guy!"

With a scything motion, Eddy cut clean through the monster's neck, showering his blade with blue blood. The jabberwock's body fell back on its haunches as it fell to the ground in an explosion of mud. Eddy only remembered that much before fainting in the shock of killing something for the first time.

--

Edd stirred, rolled on the ground, and reluctantly opened his eyes as the light of day reached them. He could hear the sound of trickling water, and, being in the presence of nature, relaxed.

Then he realised he wasn't at Ed's house.

Waking with a start, Edd gasped as he saw the surrounding countryside. He was in a rocky island in the middle of a jungle lake, with natural arches and myriad waterfalls issuing over the edge of the rocky basin he woke up in. Many birds fluttered around the high jungle canopy above his head. Looking down at his body, he was amazed by the new clothes he had been gifted with.

He was clad in a black leather set of clothes, with a blue cap sitting on top of his head. His hands were cloaked with blue metal gloves tipped with powerful, cerulean claws. He had a long, red leather strap around his waist and a large metal carry-case on his back. He was wearing heavy walking boots, and his upper arms were plated with lustrous yellow metal armour. At his waist hung a strange device, shaped like a gun but ending in a four blades, each slightly curved at the top. The trigger of the weapon was strangely alluring to Edd, and it took all of his will not to test it out. He opened the backpack he had and was instantly amazed by the inside contents. Inside the case was a myriad of machine parts, one device already assembled. The readymade device was a large dark blue crystal, covered with wires and circuit boards. The assembly manual in the box named it as a "Chroma Gem" that could put enemies to sleep. Putting the chroma back in his pocket, he walked over a rocky ledge and began to make his way towards what he hoped to be civilisation.

--

A/N: I'm accepting names for the clan that Eddy will join, and Edd won't appear until about chapter 3 or 4. At the end of each chapter we'll see where a cul-de-sac kid has appeared, and learn what class they are. As for now, the classes of the characters are as follows;

Eddy- Soldier (but will change soon)

Edd- Gadgeteer

Dros- Fighter

Schneider- Seer

Gren- Dragoon

Tomas- Thief/Juggler


End file.
